


Everything Else Goes Away

by Angel_In_The_Night_Sky



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Implied Trans Male Character, Song fic, Trans Saihara Shuichi, endgame spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-30 10:52:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19851640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_In_The_Night_Sky/pseuds/Angel_In_The_Night_Sky
Summary: Kaede Akamatsu is left particularly shaken after the death of Shuichi Saihara





	Everything Else Goes Away

**Author's Note:**

> I've never done a songfic before but I just had to for this song, I hope it came out okay. I recommend you listen to the song this was inspired by, "Everything Else" from Next To Normal. Other than that, enjoy!

Kaede Akamatsu was shaken to her core. She never thought she’d have to do a class trial and to find out her closest friend in this hellhole of a school had murdered Rantaro was a blow to the stability of her psyche. She had tried to act calm and carried her classmates through the rest of the trial. Thankfully, it had worked and her classmates didn’t notice the slight sway in her step or the sadness in her eyes. But now that everyone else had gone to bed? Kaede let her act drop as she wandered around the campus. Just that morning she had talked to Shuichi about their plans together after they escaped. She was going to meet his Uncle, and he was going to see her play at Maki’s orphanage. Now it felt like that conversation happened years ago.

Kaede found herself in the library, her body seemingly wanting confirmation that this was the reality of the situation and that Rantaro was dead. But what she saw did nothing to confirm that. Rantaro’s body was gone. Cleaned up. Not a trace left of it. No bloodstain on the floor or wall, no stray green hairs or clothing fibers, not even an indent on the wooden floor where the shot put ball had landed after hitting the unknown ultimate. It looked… normal. As if nothing had ever happened there. And it disgusted Kaede. She wasn’t sure if they were allowed to bury anything on school grounds, but they weren’t even allowed to say one last goodbye to him. So she decided to at least make something for him.

Kaede scrambled around the library, racking her brain to remember everything she had talked about with him. Admittedly, it wasn’t much. They had only really talked three times, and those weren’t rife with information about him. It was mostly speculation about his talent. She remembered he liked the beret she had given him, so she grabbed a few books on France and fashion. She also grabbed some jewelry-specific books as she remembered he showed interest in the silver earring she had. Remembering their first conversation over tea, she grabbed a brewing-based book on the way back. Kaede knew she was grasping at straws, but in all honesty, she was happy to not be thinking about the events of the past few hours. Anything to keep her brain off of the trial and Shuichi’s execution.

Kaede worked for a good ten minutes trying to make a good enough shrine for her late friend. A few times, she felt someone watching, and she hoped it was Rantaro’s spirit approving of her memorial to his memory, as she stacked various books that she thought aligned with his interests. As she finished off the shrine, she remembered that she didn’t have a picture of him. She called out for Monophanie, who had been helpful during the investigation, and she appeared without the usual announcement. The bear seemed to be crying, and Kaede winced as she remembered Monokid’s crushed body next to Shuichi’s crushed, burnt one.

Shaking off the memory, Kaede gently called out to the bear, “Hey, um, Monophanie? Can I ask a favor of you?” Monophanie dried her tears and nodded as if she was afraid to speak in case she started crying again. “Do you have any spare pictures of Amami-kun? And if you do, could you get one for me? I’m trying to make a funeral shrine for him,” Kaede asked. Monophanie nodded again before disappearing for a minute and reappearing with the picture that was placed in a frame similar to the one at the trial. Thanking Monophanie and bidding her goodnight, Kaede placed the picture on the shrine of books, and for a finishing touch, lay a nail brush in front of it.

Satisfied with what she had made, Kaede left the library and let herself wander once again. She kept replaying the last two days events in her mind, trying to figure out when the plan entered Shuichi’s mind, and wondering when, if at all, she could have stopped him. She thought about the conversation they had in the classroom while they were waiting to spring their trap. Had those words pushed him to commit to his plans? Was he committed to it as soon as he thought of it? Did any of it… even matter? Did he ever reconsider taking another human being’s life? And yet, she couldn’t tell herself that she wouldn’t have done it if she had thought of it. If it would have saved her friends… she might have killed for it too. Once again, Shuichi’s screams echoed in her mind.

Eventually, Kaede found herself at the door to her lab. Everyone else was probably asleep, and even if they were awake, she doubted anyone would be up on the second floor. And playing piano had always calmed her down in the past… and thus Kaede entered her lab. It looked exactly the same as when she first saw it. Kaede walked over to the piano in the center and tested the keys. They were all perfectly in tune. She sat down and thought for a second about what to play. She wanted to get her emotions out and nothing classical seemed to fit her mood. Finally, she decided on a slightly old song from the musical, Next to Normal.

The Pianist readied her fingers and began the song, easily playing the intro. As it finished, she began to sing,

_“Mozart was crazy, flat fucking crazy, batshit I hear,_

_But his music’s not crazy, it’s balanced, it’s nimble,_

_It’s crystalline clear._

_There’s harmony, logic, you listen to these,_

_You don’t hear his doubts, or his debts or disease,_

_You scan through the score and put fingers on keys_

_And you play._

_And everything else goes away”_ Kaede felt her body relax

 _“Everything else goes away”_ She closed her eyes and continued the song

_“And you play till it’s perfect,_

_You play till you ache,_

_You play till the strings or your fingernails break,_

_So you’ll rock that recital, and get into Yale,_

_So you won’t feel so sick_

_And you won’t look so pale,_

_Cause you’ve got your full ride and your early admit_

_So you’re done with this school_

_And with all of this shit,_

_And you graduate early_

_You’re gone as of May!_

_And there’s nothing your paranoid parents can say…_

_And you know that it’s just a sonata away and you play”_ Kaede felt a tear run down her cheek

_“And you play…,_

_And everything else goes away_

_Everything else goes away…_

_Everything else goes away…”_

Kaede let out a heavy sigh and opened her eyes again. She had been playing particularly hard as she let all of her frustration out on the piano and, as she looked at her hands, she’d chipped the nail polish that Rantaro had worked so hard on. She let out a small laugh that barely sounded like a breath. The perfect send-off to a freaking perfect day. She stood up to leave when she noticed someone leaning against the piano. “Ah! H-Harukawa-san! W-what are you doing here? How did you…?”

“I followed you after the trial. You looked off and I didn’t want to risk you doing anything rash. I don’t think anyone would want to have a body announcement the day after a trial”, Maki stated. Kaede was a bit shocked, she thought she’d managed to fool everyone into thinking she was fine, though she guessed she didn’t, obviously.

Kaede laughed shakily, “Well, it was nice of you to watch me-”

“It really isn’t a big deal”

“-but I’m fine, really. You’re really good at sneaking, I had no idea you were following me at all!”

Maki looked at the ground, “You have to be stealthy in my line of work”

“Yeah, I get that. I have a younger cousin who runs away like a bullet if you’re over ten years old! Guess that’s common around kids, huh?”

“Uh, right. Kids. They can… be a hassle if they’re like that, yeah”, Maki played with one of her pigtails. Kaede thought for a moment and said, “Ya know, when Saihara-kun and I were waiting in that classroom, I mentioned a song to him. I wanted to play it for him when we got out but… you know. Would you like to hear it?”

Maki sighed, “I guess so, it has to be good if you’re playing it, anyway,” she stopped leaning on the piano and walked forward a bit before turning around and sitting on the floor. Once again, Kaede sat down at the piano, readied her fingers, and began to play a song, this time, however, it was a song that was soothing, sad, happy, scared, and loving. _Clair de Lune._

As Kaede played, she thought back on the past few days. On each conversation she had with Shuichi. How he confessed as to why he wears his hat. How shocked he was when it was revealed that this whole school was set up to be a killing game. How Tenko had thrown him across the dining hall when he accidentally bumped into her in the kitchen and how Kaito helped him get back up. She thought about his laugh, and how it seemed forced at times. She thought of how happy he was when he saw that his room had the right size binders. She thought of how much he blamed himself for what happened to Rantaro. And how resigned he looked when she had found the truth. He had said that he never forgive Rantaro’s killer, did that mean he never forgave himself? She would never know now. The only thing Kaede thought was, _“Shuichi, I wish you could hear me play this for you”_

Kaede looked over to Maki, who had her eyes closed and wore a small but relaxed smile, and for a few seconds, she thought she saw someone sitting next to her. A familiar striped uniform and golden-gray eyes, for once unshielded by the brim of a hat. He smiled at Kaede, who continued to play, and it seemed to say, _“It’s okay, Kaede. You can do this. Help our friends through this game, and escape together, no matter what it takes, okay?”_ , and then, he faded away.

As Kaede finished the song, she felt tears fill her eyes. As Maki stood up and began to say something about Kaede’s playing, she felt Kaede’s body slam into hers and wrap her in a hug. To Maki’s credit, she managed to stay upright. Kaede was sobbing into Maki’s shoulder, placing all of her weight on the Child Caregiver. To Kaede’s dull shock, Maki held her easily. Maki herself was static, standing still and unsure whether she should throw off the grieving girl or try to comfort her. All the while, the Pianist was sobbing her heart out into Maki’s own.

“It’s all my fault! If I hadn’t thought up that stupid trap, Saihara-kun would never have come up with that plan of his and he and Amami-kun would still be alive! He trusted my optimism and put his faith in my leadership skills, how can I ever lead again? All I am is a Piano Freak, how’d I ever think I could lead anyone? I’m a failure, Harukawa… a Piano Freak-en failure… I should have died instead of him, he could help you more than a stupid failure like me… I couldn’t even stop this killing game, it’s all my fault-”

“Stop,” Maki cut Kaede off, “You are not a failure. You did everything in your power to help us. That is admirable, and you should remember that. You a much more than a ‘Piano Freak’, you are Kaede Akamatsu. Be proud of her, she inspired a bunch of teenagers, that’s next to impossible. They need you to keep going, you can’t do that until you let it all out so… just cry for a while okay?” she finally wrapped her arms around Kaede, rubbing her back as Kaede sobbed, releasing all of the emotions she had held back since the murder, and Maki kneeled her and Kaede down so it would be more comfortable. They stayed like that till Kaede fell asleep in Maki’s arms, leaving the girl to carry the Pianist back to her room.

* * *

Tsumugi Shirogane watched as a lovely scene played out in front of her, with no input from herself. This was why she loved Ultimate Real Fiction, it could lead to scenes like this where even she couldn’t have predicted what would happen. It gave her an idea. Tsumugi quickly took out her story idea sheet and erased the planned romance between Kaito and Maki, and quickly wrote a note about Kaede and Maki instead. She wouldn’t even have to do much mind meddling as she was pretty sure those feelings were already beginning between the two girls. She just needed to nudge them along.

Tsumugi looked at the characters she had written so well, putting their details into her story that she would never have thought of. The Cosplayer wondered if it was wrong to love the characters that she had created in this way, but she didn’t care. Smiling as she finalized her plans for the character she fell in love with while making this story, the one she couldn’t bear killing off. Well, hopefully, she’d get a happy ending. Not that she was gonna make any promises, this series rode on the battle of Despair and Hope. But till then she settled on watching this doomed romance bloom. Perhaps it would help to inspire more hope in the other characters that she could crush into despair-filled dust.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone actually wants to know Shuichi's execution just ask in the comments.


End file.
